FCCPA Garden
Begun with the inspiration and hard work of many church members, the garden is filled with flowering plants, many of which are native to this region of California. A variety of bees and butterflies now thrive here, and the soil is teeming with life as the garden has become a biodiversity hotspot.
This was the first gathering place in early 2022 for an Indigenous and Non-Indigenous conversation at our church, when Dr.Jonathan Cordero of the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone met with a small group from the Ohlone Justice Project (renamed BANAP).
Indigenous people of this area find a connection with, give thanks for, and make use of many of the plant species found in the garden, including Yarrow (Achillea), Mountain Lilac (Ceanothus), Soap Plant (Chlorogalum pomeridianum), Yerba Buena (Clinopodium), Coneflower Cantaloupe (Echinacea), Brittlebush (Encelia californica), Buckwheat (Eriogonum), California Fescue (Festuca), Oregon Gumweed (Grindelia), Silver Bush Lupine (Lupinus), Coyote Mint (Monardella), Sage (Salvia), California Figwort (Scrophularia), and Blue Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium).
Indigenous people of this area find a connection with, give thanks for, and make use of many of the plant species found in the garden, including Yarrow (Achillea), Mountain Lilac (Ceanothus), Soap Plant (Chlorogalum pomeridianum), Yerba Buena (Clinopodium), Coneflower Cantaloupe (Echinacea), Brittlebush (Encelia californica), Buckwheat (Eriogonum), California Fescue (Festuca), Oregon Gumweed (Grindelia), Silver Bush Lupine (Lupinus), Coyote Mint (Monardella), Sage (Salvia), California Figwort (Scrophularia), and Blue Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium).
New signage in Palo Alto’s Baylands on the exciting project of a “living levee” of importance to tackling problems of our rising sea level which includes thoughts from our friend, Jonathan Cordero.
(To explore, turn right where Embarcadero Road meets the bay and watch the change through multiple visits)
Text from sign: “Learning from the First Caretakers
We are the Ramaytush Ohlone— the original peoples of what is now called the San Francisco Peninsula. For millennia we have cared for this place according to our worldview and original instructions. We understand that all the elements of the natural world — animals, plants, humans, land, water, air — are interconnected and interdependent. Our traditional knowledge and practices are rooted in this worldview. From our teachings we learn that we are all responsible for restoring the health of the natural world.
— Jonathan Cordero, PhD, Executive Director of Association of Ramaytush Ohlone”
(To explore, turn right where Embarcadero Road meets the bay and watch the change through multiple visits)
Text from sign: “Learning from the First Caretakers
We are the Ramaytush Ohlone— the original peoples of what is now called the San Francisco Peninsula. For millennia we have cared for this place according to our worldview and original instructions. We understand that all the elements of the natural world — animals, plants, humans, land, water, air — are interconnected and interdependent. Our traditional knowledge and practices are rooted in this worldview. From our teachings we learn that we are all responsible for restoring the health of the natural world.
— Jonathan Cordero, PhD, Executive Director of Association of Ramaytush Ohlone”
Books:
|
The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life, by Amy Bowers Cordalis (Oct. 28, 2025). A multi-generational account of the Yurok Nation’s struggles and success in the removal of four dams on the lower Klamath River in NW California to bring back the health of the salmon, the river, and the people. The Yurok are a federally-recognized tribe, and their struggles took great courage and perseverance. This is a powerful account of the importance of stewardship of the environment. We are the Middle of Forever: indigenous voices from Turtle Island on the changing Earth; edited by Dahr Jamail and Stan Rushworth; (2022); This book “places Indigenous voices at the center of conversations about today's environmental crisis… interviewing people from different North American Indigenous cultures… who share their knowledge and experience, their questions, their observations, and their dreams of maintaining the best relationship possible to all of life. A welcome antidote to the despair arising from the climate crisis…it brings to the forefront the perspectives of those who have long been attuned to climate change and will be an indispensable aid to those looking for new and different ideas and responses to the challenges we face.” It includes an interview with Gregg Castro from the ARO. |
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants (2015) and The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World (2024) both by Robin Wall Kimmerer; “...an invitation to question the values that underpin our current exploitative relation to the living world. Why do we tolerate an economy that actively destroys what we love? …When I look for any sign of common ground, I hope we might find it in the ground itself, in care of the land that sustains us all.” Interview with Robin Wall Kimmerer in the New York Times Book Review; Dec. 8, 2024 Tending the Wild; Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources; By Kat Anderson. (2013); "Marvelously detailed and beautifully written, Tending the Wild is an unparalleled examination of Native American knowledge and uses of California's natural resources that reshapes our understanding of native cultures and shows how we might begin to use their knowledge in our own conservation efforts." |
Websites/Articles:
The Optimist Daily: “Returning Indigenous Land Could be our best Conservation Initiative yet”; Read about examples of conservation and restoration that are part of “a growing environmental strategy called Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). The concept is rooted in the idea that the most efficient and ethical way to conserve and revitalize land is by returning it to its original Indigenous stewards.” July 28, 2022
The Ramaytush Ohlone Land Trust (ROLT) is the official land trust of the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples of the San Francisco Peninsula. The primary goal of the ROLT is to acquire or gain access to or co-manage lands within our ancestral homeland for the following purposes:
1) Stewardship: to restore the health of the land;
2) Service: to work with the land in service of others; and
3) Cultural Revitalization: to reanimate our traditions and ceremonies.
Note: The Association of Ramaytush Ohlone (ARO) is working with the following partners: San Pedro Point (with Coastal Conservancy and the City of Pacifica), Filoli, Golden Gate Park (with Recreation and Parks Dept of San Francisco), Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MidPen), Black Point (with the National Park Service and the American Indian Cultural District (AICD))
Bay Nature: “Land Back; Indigenous land repatriation is much discussed and little practiced in the Bay Area. Why is it hard to return stolen land?” (Jan. 2021)
Green Foothills (Mission: To protect the open spaces, farmlands, and natural resources of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties for the benefit of all through advocacy, education, and grassroots action.) information about their partnership with Amah Mutsun to protect Juristac.
KQED: “Meet 3 Women Behind Indigenous Land Back Effort to Reclaim SF Peninsula Farm”; Learn about a farm in San Gregorio and the three indigenous women working to reclaim it to “heal the wounds of colonialism through food, medicine, story, and restoration.” (4-23-22)
The Optimist Daily: “Returning Indigenous Land Could be our best Conservation Initiative yet”; Read about examples of conservation and restoration that are part of “a growing environmental strategy called Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). The concept is rooted in the idea that the most efficient and ethical way to conserve and revitalize land is by returning it to its original Indigenous stewards.” July 28, 2022
The Ramaytush Ohlone Land Trust (ROLT) is the official land trust of the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples of the San Francisco Peninsula. The primary goal of the ROLT is to acquire or gain access to or co-manage lands within our ancestral homeland for the following purposes:
1) Stewardship: to restore the health of the land;
2) Service: to work with the land in service of others; and
3) Cultural Revitalization: to reanimate our traditions and ceremonies.
Note: The Association of Ramaytush Ohlone (ARO) is working with the following partners: San Pedro Point (with Coastal Conservancy and the City of Pacifica), Filoli, Golden Gate Park (with Recreation and Parks Dept of San Francisco), Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MidPen), Black Point (with the National Park Service and the American Indian Cultural District (AICD))
Bay Nature: “Land Back; Indigenous land repatriation is much discussed and little practiced in the Bay Area. Why is it hard to return stolen land?” (Jan. 2021)
Green Foothills (Mission: To protect the open spaces, farmlands, and natural resources of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties for the benefit of all through advocacy, education, and grassroots action.) information about their partnership with Amah Mutsun to protect Juristac.
KQED: “Meet 3 Women Behind Indigenous Land Back Effort to Reclaim SF Peninsula Farm”; Learn about a farm in San Gregorio and the three indigenous women working to reclaim it to “heal the wounds of colonialism through food, medicine, story, and restoration.” (4-23-22)
POST: Protecting Open Space for the benefit of all: Description of general hikes and upcoming guided hikes
Sempervirens Fund: “The true riches of relationships with the land” and information about their relationship with the Amah Mutsun Tribal band and their land trust. (Jan. 2021)
UC Berkeley Indigenous Garden Ideas: "The Oxford Tract plot, a former bee garden, is for Indigenous students to meet, learn, research, remember and grow...The Indigenous Community Learning Garden is a place where both they and native plants can connect and thrive." (Oct. 21)
Filoli Podcast: Discussion with Gregg Castro, “Culture Director of the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, to discuss Indigenous relationships with the land; perspectives and practices passed down through generations,... and the refurbished mural in the Lamchin Interpretive Center, created by Amy Hosa in partnership with the ARO. The mural depicts Ssupichom, a thriving village that stood here long before Filoli was built.” Also John Chau, Filoli’s Plant Curator, discusses “the restoration of native plants surrounding the center.”
Sempervirens Fund: “The true riches of relationships with the land” and information about their relationship with the Amah Mutsun Tribal band and their land trust. (Jan. 2021)
UC Berkeley Indigenous Garden Ideas: "The Oxford Tract plot, a former bee garden, is for Indigenous students to meet, learn, research, remember and grow...The Indigenous Community Learning Garden is a place where both they and native plants can connect and thrive." (Oct. 21)
Filoli Podcast: Discussion with Gregg Castro, “Culture Director of the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, to discuss Indigenous relationships with the land; perspectives and practices passed down through generations,... and the refurbished mural in the Lamchin Interpretive Center, created by Amy Hosa in partnership with the ARO. The mural depicts Ssupichom, a thriving village that stood here long before Filoli was built.” Also John Chau, Filoli’s Plant Curator, discusses “the restoration of native plants surrounding the center.”